bFallen t1_ith2k4r wrote on October 23, 2022 at 4:30 PM

Reply to comment by Zennlee_ in New 8000 series Metro trains will have heated floors and charging outlets by Yaratam

Bruh for real. It’s bad enough that the metro doesn’t take you everywhere you need to go, but the single biggest factor in me rarely using it is I could leave for the station and my commute time could shoot up by 15mins because I left 30 seconds later than I needed to. As is, if I want to use the metro, I have to leave 15mins earlier than the commute time just in case I am slightly late for the train, so I’m not late for the thing I’m going to. A reliable train system with trains running every ~5 mins would do wonders.

When I lived in Asia it was incredible. Go at any time, you’ll never wait longer than 6 mins for a train. You always knew how long it would take to get somewhere.

If the fundamentals of public transit aren’t even nailed down the extra stuff just doesn’t make a difference.

Zennlee_ t1_ith4aab wrote on October 23, 2022 at 4:42 PM

Exactly! I'd rather WMATA nail the basic things first like making the tracks and trains more reliable, and also putting more trains on the tracks before doing anything else. As more putting more trains, I would want them to fix the safety issues first for the 7000s before announcing this buying of the 8000s trains.

bFallen t1_ith5dhg wrote on October 23, 2022 at 4:49 PM

Yup yup, and I’d pay a higher fare if they made it more reliable too. Still a lot cheaper than an Uber.

Another thing I think could help is the Rail + Property model that the Hong Kong MTR uses. They are actually profitable because they develop the real estate around metro stations, and the developed real estate generates positive externalities since it makes metro stops more attractive places for people to go. Obviously it’s not a system that you can just implement easily but for a metro system with financial issues but a population that shows demand for better transit, it’s worth investigating how elements of the model might be applicable.

flyerfanatic93 t1_itl914h wrote on October 24, 2022 at 2:03 PM

This already exists in WMATA. Look up WMATA Transit Oriented Development.

MindStalker t1_ithkdix wrote on October 23, 2022 at 6:26 PM

Seems as though the design of the 7000 were broken from the start.

Everyone wants the trains to run more often, the only way to do that is to buy more trains. They can't buy any more old train models, they simply don't exist. The 7000s are too heavy and aren't the correct width.

DesertPilgrim t1_ithjpc8 wrote on October 23, 2022 at 6:22 PM

There's always the people who always show up in WMATA threads and say "I simply plan my entire life around assiduously checking Metro timetables and apps so that I don't arrive at the station at the incorrect time" as if either option is sufficiently accurate to begin with, not to mention that the only way to get people to take transit rather than drive is to make it something you don't have to plan your plans around because the headways are short.

And yeah, before someone says that my sarcastic remark doesn't match their experience of using apps or whatever: you simply shouldn't have to know this, you should be able to walk into a metro station and get on a train in short order, not after a quarter of an hour of waiting in the dark caverns.